Stumbled across this bargain. Sadly, when you try to put it in the cart it substitutes the solid koa with a glossy mahogany number. Pasting screenshot for when they inevitably take it down.
Stumbled across this bargain. Sadly, when you try to put it in the cart it substitutes the solid koa with a glossy mahogany number. Pasting screenshot for when they inevitably take it down.
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That said, there seem to be a number of Kala Elites just sitting across the country. It seems like eventually some should start being offered up for a good deal to those of us who would like to get our hands on them to try them out... despite the disrespect they get only due to the name.
Last week, I bought an Epiphone concert uke (the Les Paul model) brand new for $.01 including shipping! I'm supposed to get it any day. I'm wondering what kind of condition it will be in...
This was on Amazon.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a Kala Elite because my experience with a low cost Kala was very poor. If a company doesn't quality control their entry level products, I don't want to buy their high-end products even though I don't question the quality of the Elite series. By all accounts these are great instruments.
This is a "Your Mileage May Vary" situation, which I'm sure you understand. My Waterman is fine, good intonation up to 9th fret (which matches several wooden ukes I've played), and my Kala Cedar Top, the first real uke I bought (from MGM) is just about perfect, and has been since the day I opened the box.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a Kala Elite because my experience with a low cost Kala was very poor. If a company doesn't quality control their entry level products, I don't want to buy their high-end products even though I don't question the quality of the Elite series. By all accounts these are great instruments.
It's purely a "matter of principle", which customers can afford in a market full of choice even though to a degree it can be seen as unfair. I'd feel the same way if Kala had chosen to use a different brand name for their high-end models. If the Waterman had not been junk, I'd consider their top end models.
For others, resell value may be an aspect. If you drop a grand or more on a Hawaiian K brand uke and you end up selling it, you'll probably get more for it than for a Kala Elite.
Wait a second? $0.01? How did you find that?
I was looking at the new ones and saw Other Offers starting at $.01. I think it's a new dealer but I figured I have nothing to lose but a penny!
But I wonder - can the plastic Waterman even be set up?
That's the thing and why I'm a bit "salty" about the whole affair. With the way the Waterman is manufactured (molded plastic), the intonation with all of them should be at least good. What seems to have happened (we had a long thread about it a year or so ago, with a specialist in plastic things production chipping in) is that Kala produced a good chunk of these with completely poor intonation (30% off in the third fret) before they adjusted production/the molds. Those batches with the intonation problems shouldn't have made it on the shelves, and this is why I feel about Kala the way I do. If I had bought a laminated or even low cost wooden uke that had such poor intonation, I wouldn't feel quite the same way as it's sort of expected, but with plastic it's a different story.
Holy moly, I'm a little surprised they weren't recalled...
Although, does this expain why Fleas and Flukes in comparison are so much more expensive? I find them slippery devils, but quite great intonation.